Roger Skoff writes about why throwing money at, it isn't always the best way to solve a problem
Many years ago, when I was just starting XLO, a top (and very wealthy) American neurosurgeon with a state‑of‑the‑art, viciously expensive system (actually, three of them, but we'll only be talking here about the one in his main listening room) was one of the first to try XLO cables. He did so on his Goldmund Reference turntable (with every expensive cartridge available at the time), feeding Cello electronics—tri‑amped from his Cello Audio Palette preamp to three Cello Performance amplifiers—driving Goldmund Apologue speakers. (Those were $80,000 then and, in their most recent incarnation, $500,000.) All of it was housed in an expectedly big, well‑acoustically‑treated room.
The only change he made was to replace his own top‑of‑the‑line, also expectedly expensive speaker cables (three sets of them) with three sets of XLO Type 5 speaker cable.
The important thing here is not that he kept the Type 5s, but that all three sets of them cost (at the time) just under $3500. Even more important, though, was his comment that changing the cables was, by far, the greatest improvement—for the least amount of money—that he could possibly have made.
And he was right. What else could he have done? Gone to a more expensive turntable or cartridge? Better electronics (for at least tens of thousands of dollars more)? Better speakers—maybe get Arnie Nudell to custom‑build him a special set of Infinity IRSes, or get something similar from David Wilson, like a specially made, tuned‑to‑his‑room Wilson WAMM—either of which might have cost (even then) as much as $250K.
What that incident drove home—for him and for me—was something that audiophiles still argue about today: the fact that "the little stuff"—cables, room treatments, proper speaker placement, anti‑vibration feet (Norman Varney's superb EVPs, for example), and many other things—can make significant differences to your system's sound, and can do it for not very much money, or sometimes even for free plus just a little effort. Even just lifting speaker cables off the floor (yes, it does work, and for a scientifically provable reason) can make an audible difference, and it doesn't take buying fancy cable lifters to do it. (Enid Lumley first wrote about it in the 1980s, in The Absolute Sound, and she just used pieces of two‑by‑fours as her lifters.)
One real problem that audiophiles face (and not just the rich ones) is the tendency to "throw money at" system problems—to simply try to buy something better to fix a system flaw instead of first seeking the source of the flaw and fixing it without a change of components. Sometimes, buying something new really will be necessary, but much—even most—of the time, a cheaper, more thoughtful solution might give the same result for a whole lot less money.
For example, there are really only very few reasons why your system might not be giving you the performance you want. It could be that what you have now simply isn't up to the job. Or it might be that you've got a great system, but something's broken or not properly set up. It might be that some weak link in the chain is either losing musical information, distorting it, or adding things that aren't supposed to be there.
Ideally, your system should be an open door from the music on the recording, to your speakers, to your listening room, to your ears. If the sound isn't right, the problem could be at any one of those stages.
Once you understand that, the whole process becomes simpler—and a lot less expensive. Instead of assuming the problem must be the component you paid the least for (or that you've owned the longest, or that isn't the latest "hot thing" anymore), start looking at the chain as a whole. Start asking the right questions: Is the cartridge properly aligned? Or set to the correct tracking force? Are the speakers properly placed? Is the room helping or hurting? Is something vibrating that shouldn't? Is the power dirty? Are the cables adding to, subtracting from, or distorting the signal? Are they picking up noise?
None of those questions requires a second mortgage to answer. Most don't require any money at all. What they do require is attention—the willingness to look, to listen, and to experiment. And that's where the real fun begins.
Take speaker placement, for example. If your speakers aren't placed properly, it can do more damage to your imaging and soundstaging than buying speakers $10,000 more expensive can fix. And yet, getting your speakers positioned properly can be done for free. It just takes a little time, a tape measure (you'll find one in almost every audiophile's listening room), maybe one of the available "Test and Burn‑in Discs," and some careful listening. A laser pointer might help, too. Patience is the key, and a willingness to move a 200‑pound speaker a quarter of an inch at a time. It's not glamorous, but it works. And when it works, it can transform a system more dramatically than any "upgrade" you can buy.
Vibration control is another important thing. Norman Varney's (AV Room Service) EVPs are a perfect example of something inexpensive in high‑end terms that can make a startling difference. Even before you buy anything, though, you can check whether your turntable shelf is resonating, whether your rack is wobbling, whether your floor is flexing, or whether your components are sitting on rubber feet that have hardened with age. Fixing any of those costs little or nothing, and the improvement can be immediate.
Then there's the room—the most important component of all, and the one most audiophiles ignore. The room it's playing in can make a $5000 system sound like one for $50,000 or make a $50,000 system sound like $500. And the fixes don't have to be expensive. A rug, a bookcase, a couple of absorbers at the first reflection points, a heavy curtain, or even just rearranging the furniture can make a bigger difference than a new amplifier. The room is where the sound actually happens. Treat it with respect and it will reward you.
Even the simplest things—the things people laugh at—can matter. Lifting cables off the floor. Tightening binding posts. Cleaning contacts. Making sure your AC plugs are fully seated. Checking polarity. Making sure your speakers are actually wired in phase. (I've seen systems where the owner spent a fortune on components but had one speaker wired backwards, and it could never make decent bass or image properly.) Fixing that costs nothing, and the improvement is enormous.
The point is not that every tweak works, or that every cheap fix is better than every expensive one. The point is that you shouldn't assume the solution has to be expensive. Sometimes it is. Sometimes you really do need a better cartridge, a better DAC, better electronics, or better speakers. Very often, though, the biggest improvements come from the smallest things—the ones that cost little or nothing and may require more thought and careful listening than money.
Real high‑performance audio isn't about spending money. It's about removing obstacles. It's about clearing away the little things that get between you and the music. It's about making the system disappear so you can hear the music.
Sometimes that takes a major upgrade. But often, it only takes a small one—or no upgrade at all. It takes listening. It takes curiosity. It takes the willingness to try something simple before you try something expensive.
Don't overlook the little stuff. It's amazing how often the little stuff is what makes everything else finally fall into place.
